Forecast dampens BallyB summer
Credit: File photo by John Reidy
Wednesday September 08 2010
MET Éireann's weather forcasts cost Ballybunion business over the summer season as holidaymakers stayed away to dodge rain that was predicted but never fell, local tourism interests claimed this week. And they are now calling on the state agency to sharpen up their act, claiming that the town paid a heavy price for weather forecasts that wrongly predicted rain during the summer.
" The weather forecasting will have to be addressed," said Ballybunion Development Company Director Pádraig Hanrahan . "Right through the summer Met Éireann had predicted rain for days that turned out to be beautiful. Last Saturday to give one example, the forecast predicted heavy rain for the afternoon, but the day was one of the best of the summer. This was the case for much of the summer and it has a huge effect on potential visitors."
"If someone is thinking of coming to Ballybunion, but they see that rain is on the way on the forecast the night before they won't be thinking of Ballybunion for very long. There's no point in telling people afterwards that it had been a fantastic weekend. What we're getting are forecasts for Dublin and they don't seem to be taking Kerry and the southwest into the picture. This will have to be addressed," Mr Hanrahan said.
Visitor numbers on the whole, however, were up for the season, due to relatively settled weather in June and August. The domestic market was up and the town also benefited from an increase in traffic from the continent as well, in particular the German market.
"The German market would appear to have been up due to the Dusseldorf route into Kerry, but it was predominantly Irish and spread right across accommodation in town," Mr Hanrahan said..
"The spend was back a bit though, despite the increase in the visitors as people are much more cautious about spending their money in the current climate of course," he added..
Peace also reigned in the town on Monday nights, following the end of the controversial Monday Night Madness and a marketing push to re-brand the resort as a family destination.
"That's obviously a long-term strategy of which we hope to see the benefits more and more in the coming years, but Monday nights were certainly very quiet," Mr Hanrahan said.
- DONAL NOLAN dnolan@kerryman.ie
